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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22570594">How to Save A Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiebug/pseuds/maddiebug'>maddiebug</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, How the fuck did i spell happy ahapoy, Ladybug dies but Mari is okay i promise, RIP, SADrien, The Fray, ahoy, and uhhh, i sat down to write ahapoy reveal fic but instead you get this angst, i tagged it to be safe tho, sadfic, this is not what i was planning, uhhh i just had this song stuck in my head, what does that mean?, yike guys this a sad one</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:35:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>645</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22570594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddiebug/pseuds/maddiebug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a particularly rough Akuma battle, Chat Noir reflects on what he could have done better.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>How to Save A Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Uhhh yeah this was inspired by How to Save a Life by The Fray, a song which I was obsessed over in 8th grade and still cry every time I hear it so .....<br/>Also that song came out in 2005 which is 15 years ago and like whoa<br/>...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="b_paractl">"Chat Noir, we need to talk," Ladybug had yelled at him, after an Akuma battle.</p><p class="b_paractl"><em>We need to talk.</em> Those were never good words. Usually they meant a breakup or it was a way to break the news that someone had died.</p><p class="b_paractl">He couldn't bear it if anyone else he cared about died.</p><p class="b_paractl"><em>We need to talk.</em> Chat couldn't talk. He did the only thing he could think of. He ran.</p><p class="b_paractl"> </p><p class="b_paractl">Ladybug caught up to him eventually. She always did.</p><p class="b_paractl">She cornered him on the Eiffel Tower.</p><p class="b_paractl">He had ran away, was staring at Paris and didn't even notice her there until she spoke.</p><p class="b_paractl">"Sit down, its just a talk." She held out her hand. A peace offering.</p><p class="b_paractl">Those words weren't any more reassuring. "A talk about what?"</p><p class="b_paractl">She wasted no breath in starting the talk. "I think its time we reveal our identities."</p><p class="b_paractl">He was speechless, dumbfounded, unable to respond. He stared at her. When had Miss Goody-Two-Shoes "We can't reveal our identities" Ladybug changed her mind.</p><p class="b_paractl">He gave her a polite smile. A fake one. If it had been on Adrien's face, she would've recognized it as his model smile. </p><p class="b_paractl">On Chat, it just was wrong. </p><p class="b_paractl">"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I don't think I heard." </p><p class="b_paractl">She didn't waver. "We need to reveal our identities. I don't care what the kwami or master fu say, we deserve to know."</p><p class="b_paractl">"But why now?" He wanted to know. There was pain in her eyes. Fear too. Ladybug was tired, had been for a long time. Too long for a teenager. She didn't deserve this. Neither of them did.</p><p class="b_paractl">She sighed. "Why not?"</p><p class="b_paractl">So many reasons, Chat couldn't even start to name them. </p><p class="b_paractl">He looked around, trying to find an escape.</p><p class="b_paractl">To his right, there was some sort of window, to his left Paris.</p><p class="b_paractl">He bolted left.</p><p class="b_paractl">She stayed. </p><p class="b_paractl">She sat down and started to cry, afraid and blaming herself for everything. </p><p class="b_paractl">From a few rooftops away, Chat watched as she broke down. He wanted to approach her, felt guilty for the breakdown, but he couldn't. He couldn't reveal any more. It wasn't safe.</p><p class="b_paractl">He had questioned showing up from the very beginning. He knew it was a bad idea, so why did he even come? Why had he bothered to show up?</p><p class="b_paractl">
  <em>Where did I go wrong?</em>
</p><p class="b_paractl">Chat Noir knew he had messed up. Things were never supposed to get so bad. For either if them. They were supposed to have each other's backs, not be at each other's throats.</p><p class="b_paractl">
  <em>I lost a friend</em>
</p><p class="b_paractl">Once they had been best friends. Partners. An unstoppable duo. Then, things stopped being so simple.</p><p class="b_paractl">
  <em>Somewhere along in the bitterness</em>
</p><p class="b_paractl">He didn't hate her, they just had disagreements. They worked together for the fate of the city, but were anything other than a team. He ranted her strict adherence to the rules. She didn't like how impulsive he was.</p><p class="b_paractl">Somehow, instead of making them stronger, their differences drove them apart.</p><p class="b_paractl">
  <em>And I would have stayed up with you all night</em>
</p><p class="b_paractl">But he really did care about her. Even after everything, the fights, the yelling, the drama, he would've let the whole world fall apart for Ladybug. He would've done anything for her.</p><p class="b_paractl">He should've gone back and apologized. </p><p class="b_paractl">But he didn't. When he saw her crying, he left. He was too weak.</p><p class="b_paractl">He didn't want to start crying himself.</p><p class="b_paractl">
  <em>Had I known how to save a life</em>
</p><p class="b_paractl">But it was too late. </p><p class="b_paractl">He looked at the earrings in his palm and let out all of the tears he had been afraid of.</p><p class="b_paractl">Ladybug was gone. For good. And he had no way to get her back.</p><p class="b_paractl">And he couldn't help but think that if he had handled things a little differently, she would've kept fighting.</p><p class="b_paractl"> </p><p class="b_paractl">In the end, Ladybug and Chat failed to realize how similar they really were.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was listening to the song "Netflix Trip." By ajr when I wrote this. </p><p>Thanks for reading.</p><p> Let me know what you think?</p><p>Also like this it's kinda a weird style of writing I think I don't usually write like this.... and halfway through I switched styles so ooop. </p><p>Quick question, does this qualify for a major death tag or not, I'm not sure so I tagged to be safe, the ending is pretty ambiguous</p></blockquote></div></div>
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